SPEAS acquires the management company, Scandinavian Private Equity Partners A/SScandinavian Private Equity A/S has entered into an agreement to take over all shares in the management company, Scandinavian Private Equity Partners A/S, with a view to subsequently merging the two companies. In the financial year 2013/14, SPEAS expects net savings of DKK 4.0m as a result of the acquisition.

Prior to Scandinavian Private Equity A/S’s listing in 2007, the Company entered into a management and administration agreement with Scandinavian Private Equity Partners A/S (the management company), under which the management company provides advisory services to SPEAS on investment in private equity funds and performs certain administrative tasks for the Company.

Scandinavian Private Equity Partners A/S is owned by Jyske Bank, Nykredit, Spar Nord Bank and Sydbank. In addition, a small stake is held by staff in the management company. The partnership with the management company and its owners has been extremely valuable to SPEAS in connection with the listing and the establishment of SPEAS’s private equity portfolio.

SPEAS’s assets are almost fully invested in private equity funds. Going forward, SPEAS will continue to actively pick the most attractive private equity funds and make new investment commitments as the current funds realise their investments and close. The Board of Directors of SPEAS finds that the time is right to take over the investment expertise and company administration, and by acquiring the management company, the Company retains access to the relevant investment competencies.

Scandinavian Private Equity A/S has thus entered into an agreement to take over all shares in Scandinavian Private Equity Partners A/S with a view to subsequently merging the two companies.

The price agreed for the shares in the management company, including its cash reserves of DKK 19.4m, is DKK 30.0m. The Company’s auditors, Deloitte, have assessed the value of the management company and finds the transaction value fair.

The purchase price is paid by way of DKK 18.1m in cash and 767 SPEAS shares. At an average share price of DKK 15,569 over the 10 previous trading days, the 767 SPEAS shares represent a market value of DKK 11.9m. The owners of the management company have committed to not selling the shares before SPEAS has published its Annual Report for the financial year 2013/14.

The 767 SPEAS shares used to pay for the shares in the management company represent 1.5% of the share capital and will reduce the Company’s holding of own shares, which as at today totals 5,081 own shares, equivalent to 10.2% of the share capital. The Company’s holding of own shares will subsequently amount to 8.6%.

In the financial year 2013/14, SPEAS expects net savings of DKK 4.0m, mainly attributable to management fees saved (an estimated DKK 8.0m) less costs relating to investment research and reviews as well as company administration, which were previously paid by the management company. To this should be added any performance fees saved. The estimated payback period for the acquisition of shares in the management company is thus less than 3 years.

Going forward, the development in costs will be more dependent on the acitivity level of SPEAS. So far, the largest single cost item was management fees payable to the management company, which were calculated on the basis of the Company’s market value and consequently varied with the share price.